In Charming Corners

While Israel is home to some of the most famous tourist sites in the world, author Elisheva Zeltzer has just published A Charming Corner - a collection of unusual places to visit well off the beaten track. The catalyst for the book was a weekly feature that Zeltzer, a journalist, was asked to write for Israel's largest Hebrew daily Yediot Aharonot, the publisher of the book. Inaugurated several years ago, the feature - dubbed "Charming Corner" - was designed to share an offbeat site with readers of the Modern Living supplement. Scurrying about in search of "special places" after years of vacationing abroad turned into what Zeltzer calls "a process of discovery". In the preface, she writes: "I not only rediscovered the beauty of places I had visited in my youth... but also the need to travel to other lands diminished."

Zeltzer describes the book as "a collection of personal experiences, recommendations and ideas for innovative leisure." Unlike dozens of tourist guides about Israel, A Charming Corner is far from systematic or comprehensive - even geographically. It is a hit-and-miss personal saga of places and people (cross-referenced in an informal intuitive manner and laced with tips) that Zeltzer has stumbled upon face-to-face, or original ideas that she has dreamed up and carried out. She has also included other experiences she experienced as a guest, as well as ideas she has simply heard about that have captured her heart.

The book is divided into fifteen categories, all of which contain obscure but fascinating entries. For example, under the category "Museums", there is a reference to thousands of castoff items displayed in what is labeled a "Cultural Storehouse" in Kibbutz Ein Carmel - paraphernalia that ranges from phonographs and fading photos to pint-size cubby-hole shoe cabinets for toddlers in the Children's house - relics that not only say something about changing fashions and technologies, but also tell the story of the kibbutz. The "Acquisition" section leads readers to a hole-in-the-wall in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood of Tel Aviv where an artisan will bind papers - be they a tattered family prayer book or poems written by a child - in thick, aged leather using techniques employed in the Middle Ages.

Even on familiar turf such as the Nahalat Binyamin pedestrian mall in Tel Aviv, where street actors and artisans display their wares every Tuesday and Friday, Zeltzer zeros in on the piquant - where to obtain a three-month schedule of historic nighttime walking tours of Tel Aviv most people have never heard of.

In addition to quaint cafes which will host closed gatherings, Zeltzer recommends places to surprise or to meet a companion - including a discretely located bed-and-breakfast in the middle of an avocado orchard, or a family that invites small groups to "use their expansive porch" on a mountain top in the Galilee as a platform for launching a special birthday party, where the owner (a radio journalist and master storyteller) and his wife (a harpist and accomplished hostess) provide the entertainment and the refreshments.

Under "Surprises", the author provides the address and telephone number of an Israeli tenor who will come and sing arias in your living room; and the road to a 90-minute moonlit romantic stroll through the eerie wastelands near the Dead Sea, underscored by the sound of unseen musicians and vocalists who unexpectedly appear and disappear. "Weddings" provide some truly offbeat venues for getting hitched - like putting up a marriage canopy among the pillars of the ancient synagogue at Katzrin on the Golan Heights.

Despite its unusual content, Zeltzer believes the sites in her book have a common theme. "Only when I put the material together into one book did I realize how "Israeli" these places are in character and in the type of hospitality they provide: simple things like the fresh mint the owner will bring for your tea or the delight taken in suggesting where to stroll - paths that often hold surprises, such as a stand of red-trunked trees with the aroma of carobs that one hosteler led me to, a mere ten-minute walk from my cabin. It's like another Israel opening up before you."

The book also includes a chapter on "Where to Take Guests from Abroad". Zeltzer provides the exact time and place to "stage" a visit to the Old City of Jerusalem to coincide with the weekly procession of monks who reenact Jesus' steps along the Via Dolorosa. Guests may join the procession of singing and weeping people bearing giant crosses, which begins on Fridays at 3 pm. But beware: not all the sites are free or even modestly priced. One of the most impressive ideas in this section is only for those willing and able to "go to any expense": renting a helicopter for the entire day for a genuine overview of Israel to take in the breathtaking change of scenery Israel offers. Zeltzer even offers a route geared for maximum visual impact that begins with taking off from the helipad adjacent to the Knesset (Parliament building).

When asked if the "magic" of such places will dissipate as more and more people learn about them, Zeltzer says, "I'm convinced that most of the places are not 'in fashion' and will not appeal to or attract a mass audience. Moreover, the character of the bed-and-breakfasts won't change because they rest firmly on the character of the hostelers. Only the waiting lists may get longer."